Australian racing’s key role as Bet365 spreads fixed-odds gospel in America

Victorian and South Australian racing will figure prominently in a global fixed-odds service available to United States punters after a landmark deal involving wagering firm Bet365.

In what is essentially a breakthrough for a US wagering market that has been reluctant to embrace a fixed-odds model of betting on horse racing, Bet365 has launched an online service in the state of Colorado.

For the first time, fixed odds on racing have become available on a regulated sports betting platform in the United States.

But for the moment it means American gamblers have more opportunities to invest in fixed-odds wagering on Australian thoroughbred races across Victoria and SA than they have on their domestic racing scene.

Yes, there are other signs that a fixed-odds revolution in the US is gaining momentum but not to the extent of Bet365’s expanded offering.

MonmouthBets, backed by ASX-listed wagering technology group Betmakers, has been a fixed-odds provider since it was legalised in New Jersey in 2022.

At the moment it only offers limited markets on horse racing because of complex regulatory conditions.

Betmakers established its US fixed-odds betting footprint as a retail outlet at Monmouth Park before launching an online betting app last year.

Bet365 is so far the only agency among 21 online sports betting operators licensed by the Colorado Division of Gaming to offer fixed odds on horse racing.

An agreement between Bet365, Sports Information Services (SIS), Colorado regulators and the state’s racing stakeholders paved the way for the approval.

SIS, who brokered the deal in tandem with Bet365, supplies betting services to retail and online operators around the world.

As part of Bet365’s fixed-odds product, Colorado punters were able to wager on the recent Saudi Cup meeting.

Victoria and SA meetings heavily populate SIS’s schedule and they are among an international coverage that includes 140 racetracks in 14 countries.

It’s a move that wagering operators hope will be the first of many for racing across the US, a country dominated by a pari-mutuel system.

So far, Delta Downs and Evangeline Downs, both in Louisiana, will be the only two United States racetracks available to Bet365 customers, underlining the difficulties of the red tape in the American wagering landscape.

Many stakeholders claim that the introduction of a fixed-odds racing product would impact pari-mutuel holds and that in turn will cause lower returns to stakeholders via prize money.

But there are signs that American racing is open to a blanket fixed-odds introduction.

“There is increasing popularity in wagering using fixed odds, which would increase the handle,” National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association chief executive Don Hamelback told the Legal Sports Report.

“We’re supportive as long as a fair revenue-sharing model is in place.”

Ironically, an explosion in online sports betting in the country is seen as a growth area that can work to racing’s advantage to create a vibrant fixed-odds marketplace.

Betting on sports is an exclusively fixed-odds product and therefore potential customers are already well-versed in the differences from pari-mutuel wagering.

Operators say it makes sense to present betting on racing in a similar way to attract and engage a new audience.

“It will take time in the US, but I expect that more sports wagering operators and states will include horse racing on their sports catalogues,” SIS’s Michele Fischer said.

Under the terms of the fixed-odds introduction, chief Colorado racing stakeholders including Bally’s Arapahoe Park and the Colorado Horsemen’s Association will receive a slice of the turnover.

“The launch of fixed-odds horse racing betting on Colorado sportsbooks puts horse racing on equal footing with other sports and hopefully attracts a new fan base and revenue for our racetrack partners,” Fischer said.

Elsewhere in America, New York lawmakers are trying to have fixed-odds wagering legalised in a move that has the support of the New York Racing Association.

NYRA Bets provides a platform for pari-mutuel wagering but fixed-odds wagering would put horse racing on the radar of major sports-wagering firms such as FanDuel, DraftKings and Caesars.

In the same way Colorado racing authorities negotiated a deal, a successful New York bill would provide for sports betting platforms to reach agreements with tracks licensed for pari-mutuel wagering.

That would allow the racing associations or tracks to negotiate the rate or percentage of the hold that is returned to the racing industry but the bill has not advanced past a Senate Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee stage.

Nevertheless, New Yorkers have quickly developed an appetite for online sports wagering.

Sports betting was legalised in January 2022 and New York authorities reported almost $US36 billion in annual turnover last year.

That figure puts it third behind New Jersey ($US45.5 billion) and Nevada ($US37.7 billion) among the 38 states where online wagering is legal with expectations it will be No.1 in 2025.

To captitalise on this surge, wagering operators are keen to attract punters crossing over to racing with a fixed-odds component as pari-mutuel turnover struggles.

“It will take time in the US, but I expect that more sports wagering operators and states will include horse racing on their sports catalogues” – Sports Information Service’s Michele Fischer.

According to Equibase, an American industry-owned database providing racing information and statistics, total wagering on US thoroughbred events fell 3.7 percent to $US11.66 billion in 2023 as sports betting continued to make an impact.

Leading US thoroughbred racing figures say the drop masks an even bigger concern.

Pat Cummings, head of the newly formed National Thoroughbred Alliance who has worked in a variety of racing administrative and media roles around the world, insists turnover could be down by at least 50 per cent if properly adjusted for inflation.

“If we wanted to compare what we were doing in terms of handle 20 years ago versus where we are last year or this year, you need to double where those figures were,” Cummings told the Legal Sports Report.

“We’d need to be doing about $25 billion in today’s dollars. It is substantially worse than it looks.”

Outdated technology that is no match for the software used by what industry insiders call computer-assisted wagerers (CAW) is blamed as one of the reasons for the drop in turnover.

Anecdotal evidence suggests casual punters are turned off by drastic odds collapses during the running of a race because big-betting syndicates can automatically place large wagers right up to the final seconds before the start of an event.

Cummings says offering fixed odds is more in keeping – and appealing – to the ways of racing’s modern-day customers.

“We cannot afford to keep losing market share when the overall wagering ecosystem is thriving outside of horse racing,” Cummings said.

“You have to put some faith in the market to present products to customers that fit where they are in their wagering lifespan.”